Tea & Fairy Tales: Witches, Cats & Pancakes

Based on my popular Insight Timer Live sessions; Tea & Fairy tales! Get yourself a warm drink and get cozy! We will leave the mundane behind and journey into myth and memory with sacred stories. Allow me to share my heritage of telling stories; take a break from your day and today we'll listen to stories of witches, dancing animals, some interesting old Scottish words, and a few pancakes! *Please be aware, as is often the case with fairy tales this story involves some mild peril and threat*

Transcript

Greetings,

Dear ones,

And welcome to another instalment of Tea and Fairy Tales.

So as always take your time to brew your favourite cup of hot drink and join me for two fairy tales about cakes,

Witches,

Butter and pancakes.

Our first fairy tale is called A Witch Burnt.

They say the castle of Errandeggan is so haunted that the ghosts bump into each other at night as they wisp through halls like travelling clouds.

They get tangled up sometimes in whirls and twists and promises of gold and foolhardy bets have been made in ale houses trying to persuade men to stay the night within this haunted castle.

But the men have never succeeded.

It is too cold,

Too dark,

Too eerie a place,

Too great their fear.

But one day a man who went by the name Bald Jan stood on a table in an ale house and boasted that he could stay any length of time in that castle as long,

He said,

As he had everything he needed for frying pancakes.

The villagers laughed,

But they were intrigued what would become of this strange man.

Surely his adventure would make for a good tale,

Which the villagers always sought to brighten dark evenings.

And so they gathered from their stores a heavy pan,

Rich creamy butter wrapped in brown paper,

Hens eggs and fine flour from the miller,

Laughing as they gathered these stores.

Children spread out a little flour on their faces and loomed towards their friends howling as they imagined the ghosts did.

But soon the ingredients were all gathered and the crowd quietened.

Dusk was falling and Jan gathered up his foods and took the short walk to the castle.

The villagers waved him off and returned to their homes.

Jan ascended stone steps grimy with age and moss and through a splintered old door into the castle,

His shoes kicked up dust and crumbled plaster crunched under his feet in a vast hallway.

He could smell damp and dust and some distant smells of memories long forgotten.

The light was low,

Not helped by grimy windows.

He let his hands slide over well-warmed banisters as he made his way up creaking stairs.

He found a grand room with a big stone fireplace.

He had gathered sticks and wood from the castle grounds and soon had a golden fire crackling in the fireplace,

Casting dancing light and a wave of heat through the room.

He pulled out an old wooden chair and sat close to the flame and he bought out his cooking utensils.

He whisked up his batter and began to fry a pancake sweet smelling on the fire and the door of the room creaked gently open.

But it was not a ghost but a black cat that prowled into the room towards the fire as cats are wont to do.

She came to warm herself by the flames but perhaps as usual she spoke to Jan.

What was he doing?

I am frying pancakes my little friend said Jan.

The answer seemed to be the one that the cat was seeking because as soon as the words came out of his mouth seven more cats entered the room and this slinking clan of felines as a group once again asked Jan what he was doing and Jan again answered I am frying pancakes.

Again this answer seemed favourable to the cats who now taking each other's paws began to dance around and around a swirling circle of cats.

What's wrong with that you may ask but Jan had another plan and perhaps one they would not like so much.

As they danced in the firelight amongst the smells of smoke and sweet pancakes Jan filled the pan with a whole block of butter that was given to him.

It melted and bubbled turning golden and scolding hot and he threw the butter at the circle of cats but in one instant they all but vanished.

The melted butter quickly solidified on the cold floor.

On the following day Jan was on the ale house table again in the village square.

The day had dawned on a beautiful bright autumnal day rich blue sky above and golden leaves underfoot danced over cobblestones and the villagers emerged from their homes to hear Jan announce that the castle would no more be haunted.

Within the crowd looking on at the show the shoemaker's wife moved very slowly.

She had a long burn down her arm new and angry.

In pain as she must have been as Jan continued the speech of his bravery he was definitely adding more ghosts to the story of his path within the castle.

The shoemaker's wife cast a look over to the baker's wife.

She raised her eyebrows to the baker's wife with an almost imperceptible smile.

The baker's wife nodded and took a bite out of the day's special a rolled pancake filled with fine buttercream.

They were not done and a little butter on those burns would soothe them nicely.

That was a version of a fairy tale called A Witch Burnt originally told in a book published in 1852 called Northern Mythology.

That was my version of the tale which was a little different and maybe slightly more favourable to the witches.

But a very interesting tale so often witches are portrayed as transforming into cats and hares and foxes.

There is something about these magical women embodying beautiful creatures.

And now my friends our second tale from a book published in 1910 called The Scottish Fairy Book.

A tale called The Wee Bannock.

Now a bannock is a little oat cake cooked in a pan and this is the tale of his adventures.

The Wee Bannock.

Some tell about their sweethearts how they twirled them in the winnock but I'll tell you a bonny tale about a good oatmeal bannock.

There was once an old man and his wife who lived in a dear little cottage by the side of the river.

They were well contented but they had enough to live on and enough to do.

Indeed they considered themselves quite rich for beside their cottage in their garden they possessed two sleek cows,

Five hens,

An old cat and two kittens.

The old man spent his time looking after the cows and the hens in the garden while the old woman kept herself busy spinning and baking.

One day after breakfast the old woman thought that she would like an oatmeal bannock for her supper that evening so she took down her bake board and baked a couple of fine cakes and when they were ready she put them down beside the fire to harden and while they were toasting her husband arrived and sat down to take a rest in his great armchair.

Presently his eyes fell upon the bannocks and as they looked very good he broke one through the middle and began to eat it.

Well when the other bannock saw this it was determined that that should not have the same fate so it ran across the kitchen and out of the door as fast as it could and when the old woman saw it disappearing she ran after it as fast as her legs could carry her but she was old and the bannock was young and it ran faster than she did and escaped over the hill and behind to the house.

It ran and ran and ran until it came to a large newly thatched cottage and as the door was open it took refuge inside and ran right across the floor to a blazing fire which was burning in the first room it came to.

Now it chants that this house belongs to a tailor and he and his two apprentices were sitting cross-legged on the top of a big table by a window sewing away with all their might while the tailor's wife was sitting beside the fire carding lint.

When the wee bannock came trundling across the floor all three tailors got such a fright they jumped down from the table and hid behind the master tailor's wife.

Coot what a set of cowards you be.

Tis but a nice wee bannock.

Get hold of it and divide it between you and I'll fetch you all a drink of milk.

So she jumped up with her lint and her lint cards and the tailors jumped up with their great sheers seeking to catch the wee bannock but it dodged round them and round the fire and at last it got safely out the door and ran down the road with one of the apprentices running after it who tried to step it in two with those sheers.

But it ran too quickly and at last he stopped and found a new house.

This time a tiny cottage by the roadside it trundled in through the door and there was a weaver sitting at his loom with his wife beside him.

What's that Tibby?

Said the weaver as he saw this little cake flying past.

Oh she cried into light.

Tis a wee bannock.

I wonder where it came from.

Did he bother your head about that Tibby?

But grip it my woman,

Grip it.

But it was not so easy to get hold of this wee bannock and it was in vain that the wife threw her hands about the bannock and tried to knock it down.

But the bannock dodged and turned and twisted like a thing bewitched till at last it flew out the door again and vanished down the hill.

Next the wee bannock arrived at a mill.

The miller was sifting meal through the trough but he straightened himself up when he saw the little cake.

It's a sign of plenty when bannocks are running about with no one looking after them he said.

But I like bannocks and cheese so just come in and I will give you nights lodging.

But the little bannock had no wish to be eaten up by the miller so it turned and ran out of the mill and the miller was so busy that he did not trouble himself to run after it.

So after this it ran on and on until it came to the smithy and popped in to see what it could see.

The smith was busy at the anvil making horseshoe nails but he looked up as the wee bannock entered.

If there is one thing I am fond of it is a glass of ale and a well toasted cake he cried so come in by here and welcome to ye.

But as soon as the little bannock heard of the ale it turned and ran out of the smithy as fast as it could and the disappointed smith picked up his hammer and ran after it.

He saw he could not catch it so he flung his hammer in the hope of knocking it down but luckily for the little cake he missed his aim.

After this the bannock came to a farmhouse with great stacks of peat standing up by the doors.

As he rolled in,

Oh Janet a man exclaimed in surprise here comes a little bannock it looks rare and good to eat I'll have one half of it and I'll have the other half said his wife Janet.

Hit it over the back with your stick and knock it down quick or it'll be out the door again.

But the bannock played juke about and dodged behind a chair.

Hoot cried Janet contemptuously because she thought that her husband might easily have hit it but they both missed.

For the bannock played juke about again and flew about the house.

This time it ran up the hill amongst the heathers and found an old woman making porridge for her supper in a pot over the fire.

Come here come here cried the woman thou art crying for a little bannock for thy supper come here quick and let me catch you.

But in her hurry she tripped and fell and the wee bannock jumped over her and flew laughing out the door.

Then through the winds up the hillside it ran over the top of the hill to a shepherd's cottage on the other side.

The shepherd's wife exclaimed there's a wee bannock coming to warm itself at our fireside.

Sneak the door cried the shepherd and we'll try and catch it it would come in handy for our porridge.

The bannock did not wait until the door was snaked it turned and ran as fast as it could and the shepherd and his wife and all their little bairns with their spoons in hands ran after it and when the shepherd saw that it could run faster than they could he threw his spoon and almost struck it.

The bannock escaped all these dangers and was soon on his way again out into the grey light for night was beginning to fall.

And as for the poor little bannock it thought that it would creep under a wee bush and lie there till morning but it was so dark that it never saw that there was a fox's hole there so it fell down the fox's hole and the fox was very glad to see it for he had had no food for two days.

Oh welcome,

Welcome he cried and he snapped it through the middle with his teeth and that was the end of the poor wee bannock and if a Moralby wanted for this tale here it is that people should never be too uplifted or too cast down over anything but all the good folk in the story thought that they were going to get the bannock and lo and behold the fox got it after all.

So that my friends was the wee bannock and little moral tale at the very end from the original fairy book.

A reminder that some days we get bannocks and some days we don't and some days the bannock lives to roll down the hill once more.

So when you are ready finish your warm cup of tea and I hope the rest of your day is full of joy and a few tasty morsels to eat.

Thank you for joining me.

Goodbye for now.

You

Reviews

Loved your way of telling these delightful stories! A great tea break audio to have on in the background

I love your stories!
They put me right to sleep,
What’s your favorite tea??
I like Earl Gray
Love from Pearl!
💛🫖💛

I love listening to your stories. They are filled with magic and a nice change to listen to

Put me asleep frist try

Thank you for this Sarah!! A fun start to my day 😊 love and light 🙏🏻🕊🪷💖

That was amazing! I’m not sure if you remember me talking about my sister and her love for the wee old bannock. But she wanted me to tell you that she loves your meditations, that your amazing (I agree to everything she is saying), and that her new favourite is sweet fortune and cakes. Thank you for everything you do.

Xoxo,
Zalia

Wonderful. I could listen to Sarah tell stories all day. She is so relaxing to listen to.

This was so enjoyable, Sarah; thank you so much! Your meditations are always amazing, and these tea and fairytale stories are equally so. Part of that is due to your wonderful ability to weave a tale, and part of it is due to your fabulous voice. (I think you could read a grocery list and it would sound magical! 😘)

Love and blessings to you! 💖

Wonderful storytelling, thank you. Love and blessings 💜x

Such delightful little tales, thank you. I’ve signed up and at the last minute been unable to attend, my goodness, look at the fun I’ve been missing!!! 🫖💜🥞

Love your meditations. Thank u.

Such a treat! Thanks for adding to your collection of delightful tales. I write my Master’s thesis on fairy tales as therapy so I’m especially delighted! 🧚🙏